100 Day Project: Narwhal

ByNatasha HatcheronMay 04, 2020

Day 13/100

Narwhal

IUCN Status : Least Concern

Happy Monday everyone! Let’s kick off the week with some animal facts, shall we? Narwhals are one of two species of cetaceans in the family Monodontidae, the other being the beluga whale. They’ve been the subject of many marine legends and males are pretty easily identifiable by their giant tusk (which is actually an elongated tooth!). We still aren’t fully sure about the reasons for having a huge tusk, but in 2014 scientists discovered it was filled with nerve endings and in 2017 drone footage of narwhals hunting fish by stunning them with their tusks was filmed for the first time!

Did you know that

• Narwhals have only two teeth. The left side tooth is the one that usually grows into a tusk but some individuals have been found with two tusks as they’ve grown both teeth!

• Narwhal tusks have been historically sold as unicorn horns

• They have evolved to become so specialised to their icy homes that they are considered the cetacean species most affected by climate change

Got any narwhal facts? Ever seen one?! Tell me all about it in the comments!